Thank you so much for tuning in and Welcome everyone – Hope you’re well!  I’m your host, Ben Lively, and you’re listening to “Shaken Awake” – Episode #42!  

 

I just want to thank you for tuning in, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing right this very moment.  

 

And, as always, I promise you another great show – But, more than anything, my HOPE for you today, and always, is that you have an actual encounter with the Lord - He’s is always right there beside you.    If you find ANY value in these episodes, the greatest thank you of all is to pass the word to at least one person you know to help spread the show to other’s that you feel could benefit.

 

So, without further delay, let’s get ready to invite God in with us, right here, right now and allow Him to speak directly to your heart and minds.   

 

 

So, today’s topic is: “Is This Life All God Has for Me?”

 

It’s not a question that can be easily answered.  Nor is it a question that has a yes or no answer.  Why is that?  That’s because the answer has to do with what you believe.  What we believe, we do.  

 

So, if I believe that I’m at risk of getting terminated at my job, I would step it up in all areas of my job functions and responsibilities and would go above and beyond the call, if I’m serious about keeping my job and believe I stand a chance by stepping up performance.  If I don’t care, I may just start looking for another job immediately and continue at the same level of performance that I’m currently performing.

 

If I’m getting overweight and I care about losing the added weight, I will take measures to eat right, exercise, and put out more calories than I consume, right?  But that’s only if I actually care – otherwise, I’ll do nothing or continue doing the same day in and day out.  Would you agree?

 

If I’m living paycheck to paycheck or finding that it is becoming hard to make ends meet, and it truly matters to me, I may take on a part-time job, reduce some unnecessary expenses, and/or go for a higher paying job – or all the above, correct?   If it doesn’t bother me much, or it’s just not worth it to do so, I’ll just continue making and spending what I have been and simply ‘accept’ my financial situation.

 

Here’s the message, guys – there is absolutely NO difference in these three, simple scenario’s that I just gave that are extremely commonplace in today’s society, than that of what God has in store for our life and what we choose to do about the life He’s given us.

 

I only wish someone would’ve explained this to me 30 or so years ago; but no one ever did.  Not even the church.  And there were several.

 

Not only did I not care what life had in store for me, I did my best to create the life I WANTED – The life HE wanted for me???  Are you kidding?  I was going to create the life I wanted, and took that mindset and belief and ran with it day after day for more almost 40 years.  If you haven’t already, please listen to my very first podcast to see how that worked out for me…here’s a hint; not only did it NOT work out well, it was a pure disaster and one that was deserving of eternal punishment in hell. 

 

You see, I also believed in God.  In my mind’s eye, I felt that if God had a special plan for my life, a.) this COULDN’T be it and b.) He would ensure it happened, regardless.  So, I was subliminally sort of waiting on Him to make a move, right?  I simply thought of John 3:16 – and as long as I and all the rest of us who believes in Him would live out our life here on Earth, and then be transported right into Heaven upon death and live out eternity with Him in paradise.  Man, was I ever WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You see, for one – I never read my Bible.  I relied on church to ‘feed me the Word’ and the verses and Bible stories I was forced to memorize as a kid to be my guiding light and wisdom for the remainder of my life.  I had no idea what was in the Bible, what God wanted me to do, WHY He created me, what was expected of me as a professing Christian, and what a true relationship with Jesus Christ even meant.  I had no idea He had been waiting on ME to seek Him and to surrender all to Him before He was going to put anything in motion.  He couldn’t put His plans He had for my life in motion until I realized I needed Him and was willing to stop living the life He gave me, for ME, and begin living the life He gave me for HIM!  It was ME who was self-sabotaging my own life.  It was me that was creating and living a self-fulfilling prophecy!!!  It was ME who was creating a life of meaningless nothingness and headed for hell at that!!!  It was me who was suffering from partaking in the life God meant for me but seeing my life through the world’s lens, and not His.  I had NO idea the reason He puts us here, whether we are saints or evil, is to live out HIS purpose, for HIS Kingdom!  It wasn’t until I began reading the Bible that I began to understand through scripture and understanding being given to me by the Holy Spirit that what we do here on Earth is setting up our destiny!  A different way I can put this is, many here on Earth spend their working life creating a nest egg and future of a decent-to-good retirement before their time is up.  So they live the majority of their life out for a few decades, at best and at most, to live a comfortable retirement – let’s just call it their “investment in life.”

 

No!  You see, our life is to be spend for His glory and edification and to live out our lives here on Earth as an investment into our Kingdom.  I once heard this analogy that will forever stick in my memory bank – and that was, “Life is the dressing room, or rehearsal room, for Eternity.”  Perfect analogy.  God has given us a definitive number of heartbeats, hours, days, years, and tasks to perform before our last breath on Earth has come.  It’s what WE do with these days that dictate what He does in our lives, and what our eternity will look like.  

 

My pastor once said the magic truth:  You can either spend your life, waste your life, or invest your life (and by invest, he meant for the Kingdom of God).   The question is – which of the three have you done in your life up until today?

 

What have you done to do the will of the Father?  What do I mean by that?  Let’s see what the Bible has to say, forget what I have to say:

 

Matthew 12:50 - “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

 

Those who do the will of the Father go to Heaven

In Matthew 7:21 Jesus warns us that those who do the will of the Father are the ones who will go to heaven.

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

That is, no one is going to heaven unless he or she is doing the Father’s will. The Greek word for “does” is a Greek present participle, which implies ongoing behavior. The person who does the will of God once in a while does not qualify. Jesus is describing someone who habitually does the will of the Father.

What is the MOST important Will of the Father?

1 John 3:23 tells us explicitly that it is the will of the Father that we believe in Christ. Notice we are commanded to believe in Christ.

“And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.”  1 John 3:23  

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12  

Those who obey this command are called Christians. God desires that every man and woman believe in Jesus Christ, but not everyone will obey. Only by believing in Jesus Christ will any person obey this command and go to heaven.

Who does the Will of the Father?

The message of Ephesians 2:8-10 is that the Holy Spirit transforms or changes Christians so that they will do good works. It is important to understand that the one who believes in Christ does the will of the Father, and then the Father transforms Christians to become like Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

Philippians 1:6 reiterates this truth. It tells Christians that God started a good work, is still doing a good work, and will continue to transform us into the future.

 

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 1:6 

 

So, what is God’s goal for Christians? What does God want Christians to become? Ephesians 4:13 answers the question. The verse tells us that God is transforming every Christian “to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” That is, God is working in every Christian to make us like Christ. He is working to make us holy. As a result, only Christians are able to do good works.

 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works . . .”  Ephesians 2:8-10

Therefore, who will do the will of the Father? The answer is true Christians! Only true Christians can do the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes this happen.

Doing the will of the Father reveals true Christians

Now we are ready to observe Jesus’ statement in Matthew 7:21-23. In verse 21, Jesus warns us that on judgment day, only those who have done the will of the Father will enter heaven. Here is Matthew 7:21-23.

 

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.”  Matthew 7:22-23 

Now we must ask, “Who does the will of the Father?” There is only one group of people who can do the will of the Father and who will do the will of the Father consistently. We do not mean perfectly, but their pattern of life is obedience to the will of the Father.

The only people who are going to heaven are those who believe that Jesus is God, died for our sins, returned to life, and because they are sinners respond in repentance and seek God’s forgiveness. It is an act of humility and submission to Christ. Non-Christians are not obedient to God and cannot do the good works that are done by the indwelling Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Non-Christians are not obedient and cannot obey God because good works are the work of God, performed by the Holy Spirit.

How a person lives their life is proof that he or she is a true Christian!  Only those who believe in Jesus and are depending on Him for salvation will actually Do the will of the Father. But notice, doing the will of God does not make a person a Christian and guarantee that they will go to heaven. That is backward theologically. The teaching of the New Testament is that Christians do good works. Good works do not make a person a Christian. Consequently, when Jesus said, “He who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” are the missing words. He was describing the character of a Christian and not how to go to heaven.

So, what does all this mean?  How do we tie this into the trillion-dollar, lifelong question for many of us, which is - “Is This Life All God Has for Me?”  

There are a few answers to this question that all tie into the overall, bigger picture and final answer; here they are:

Jesus said, as it states in Matthew 22:37 – “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  Therefore, what do YOU…. yes YOU do on a daily and regular basis to show God and to love God with all your heart and soul and mind?  I cannot answer that for you.  Only you can.  WHAT do you do?  For what you believe, you do…

 

Second is, we can ask God every day, “Is this life all you have for me?”.  Here’s where it’s going to sting a little (or a lot) ….He’s asking you the same thing, my Brothers and Sisters -He’s asking you, “Is this all you’re going to do with the life I’ve given you?”  You owe Him that answer, not the other way around.  He spoke life into you for you to be created…. what are you doing with the life He chose to create just for you?

 

You will never know or comprehend what awaits you in this lifetime, nor the next, unless you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.  You will never get to experience the love that God has for you and the plans He has for your life unless you surrender all, and allow Him and the Holy Spirit to work through you to complete the plans they have for you.  Ironically, it is YOU that can have abundantly more and a greater life than you could ever dream or imagine, but the power of God, but that rests on what YOU are willing to do for Him and His Kingdom.

 

On January 20th, 1961, John F Kennedy said, and I quote, “And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”

 

So now on this very day I ask you, my fellow Brothers and Sisters, Ask not “what God can do for you and your life,” but “what you can do for your God and His Kingdom?”

 

So, in closing, my final statement is this:  As it is written in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— don’t you dare, for one second, think that he is only referring to Heaven.  He’s also referring to this life we have to invest for Him and His Kingdom – I never experienced the things I have on Earth as it is in Heaven, until the day I surrendered all and began living my life for Him and not myself.  He has blessed me in dividends that I cannot even explain.  It is proof, He delivers His promises to those who love and obey Him.

 

So, my final questions to you is this:    If you’ve been wondering, “Is this all God has planned for my life?” – just know, He’s been asking you the same question.   Once you live your life for Him, you cannot FATHOM what He has in store you for; either in this life, or the next.  What are you waiting for???  Don’t wait another day!

So, before we end today’s show, I just want to thank you all again for tuning in and I HOPE you were touched by today’s message and scripture.  I’d like to ask you a favor only IF you received any value out of today’s show – would you tell at least one person you know – call them, text them, email them, talk to them – tell them to give this show a listen.  

 

Check out the show at shaken-awake.com, email me at ben@shaken-awake.com or call or text me directly for any reason at (407)-493-3208 (repeat).  If you have ideas for the show – LET ME KNOW!  If you know of someone that has an incredible testimony of coming to the Lord, and you think they would be a great guest of this show, please connect with me – I’d love to hear more.

 

Next week!!!!  Tune in Next Sunday – or WHENEVER YOU’RE ABLE, as we dive into another important topic of today, which is, “Why Can’t We Make Time to Read the Bible?”

Next week’s episode is another powerful and DO-NOT-MISS episode – thanks for joining!  

Until next week, take great care of yourself and each other, and God Bless You all.